Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Methamphetamine On Microglia Through Reactive Oxygen Species, Chase Seiter, Jordan Yorgason, Nathan Sheets, James Blood, Lydia Hawley, Erin Taylor, Eliza White, Hillary Wadsworth, Jason Hansen

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

▪ Dopamine release in the Nucleus Accumbens (NAc) underlies motivational behavior for methamphetamine (METH) reward.

▪ ATP is a chemoattractant to microglia and is METH on ATP release and clearance are unknown.

▪ Furthermore, METH is known to produce reactive dopamine terminal function, microglia morphology and METH interactions are unknown.

Chasing The Rainbow: Systematics Of New Guinean Rainbow Skinks, Taylor Probst, Alison Whiting

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Oral Presentation Honorable Mention

• Carlia are known as the “Rainbow skinks” due to their iridescent scales (see Figure 1).

• Carlia are found across Oceania (see figure 2), however only relationships among the Australian species are known.

• New Guinean Carlia are divided into three species groups based on size, distribution, and morphology.

• Species within the Carlia fusca complex have primarily been delineated based on regional color patterns (see Figure 4).

• New Guinea is known for extreme lizard diversity, specifically within skinks.

• Research has shown that many lizard groups underwent a rapid diversification within New Guinea, …

A Rare Plant In Peril: Conservation Concerns For An Endemic Alpine Plant, Ipomopsis Spicata Ssp Tridactyla, Kainoa Bolinder, Loreen Allphin, Madison Huie, Steven Flinders

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Ipomopsis spicata ssp. tridactyla, (I. tridactyla or IPTR; Fig. 2 & 12), is a rare alpine plant species endemic to the Tushar Mountains and Markagunt Plateau of southern Utah. There is limited knowledge available about population dynamics and community composition. Due to difficult abiotic conditions, alpine environments are more vulnerable to lasting damage from disturbance (Scherrer & Pickering, 2005). Ipomopsis tridactyla is listed as high-priority for conservation (Alexander, 2016). As conservation concerns for alpine plant communities increase due to climate change (Kopp & Cleland, 2013), so does the need for long-term monitoring of plant populations. Thus, we set …

Zmp-Induced Activation Of Ampk Enhances Accumbal Dopamine Function, Isabella Roque, Jordan Yorgason, Rachel Campbell, Serin Baker, Jared Mcfarlane, Oliver Saunders, David Thomson

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Oral Presentation Honorable Mention

• Dopamine terminal function is associated with motivation

• Fasting activates AMPK, a cellular sensor that measures intracellular AMP relative to ATP

• AMPK activation is a target of interest for age related cognitive decline, prevention of muscle wasting, etc.

• ZMP is an endogenous nucleotide AMP mimetic that activates AMPK

• The present study examined the novel precursor ZMP compound called P39 using an ex vivo mouse model

Vulnerabilities Of Gender Non-Conforming Children Within The Abcd Study, Mitchell D. Felix, Erik J. Nelson

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

• In the broad field of childhood health and development, understanding and caring for society’s most vulnerable populations is vital. One such at-risk population is gender non-conforming children, individuals whose gender expression does not conform to conventional societal norms.1

• Gender non-conforming individuals are likely to be subject to increased discrimination and violence,2 with non-conforming youths specifically seeing elevated rates of harassment by peers and childhood abuse.3,4

• The intersection between gender identity and health outcomes is an emerging field with important applications for policy, practice and societal attitudes.

Phylogeny Of Hetaerina (Odonata: Calopterygidae): Settling Taxonomic Issues, Reganne Leigh Hales, Seth M. Bybee, Laura N. Sutherland, Melissa Sanchez Herrera, Samantha Standring

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Recent phylogenetic work within Hetaerininae based on Sanger data highlighted classification issues (e.g., non-monophyly between the genera), however no changes were proposed at that time. We explore the phylogeny of Hetaerininae using a targeted enrichment approach (AHE) of 20KB (18.5KB of nuclear and 1.5 of mitochondrial DNA) in an attempt to resolve any discrepancies.

Invasive Phragmites Effect On Utah Wetlands Soil Composition, Cecilia Steffen, Rachel Wood, Madison L. Brown

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Introduction

• Invasive Phragmites australis (referred to as Phragmites), invaded Utah wetlands in the 1980's. Efforts have been made since then to remove Phragmites through various treatments.

• Phragmites outcompetes other wetland plants, causing it to be the dominant species. This is called a monoculture.

• Utah's wetlands are important for many species migrations, filtration, and nutrient cycling.

• How do Phragmites treatments effect soil nutrients and moisture? How do untreated Phragmites wetlands compare to native dominant wetlands?

Exploring Soil Plant Relationships To Inform Seed Selection For Rangeland Restoration, Mallory Hinton, April Hulet, Matt Madsen, Raechel Hunsaker, Shannon Nelson

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Seeding plants post disturbance on rangelands is a challenge due to unique ecological and environmental conditions such as:

• Limited water availability1

• Invasive species2

• Soil health3

• Native seed supplies4

One of the key factors to address these challenges and have a successful seeding is to understand the relationship between soil properties and the plants that grow within them.

Diversity And Community Of Macroinvertebrates In Timpanogos Caves, Utah, Erika Frandsen, C. Riley Nelson

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

The Timpanogos Cave System consists of three caves in American Fork, Utah. In 2003, the National Park Service (NPS) commissioned Dr. Riley Nelson and laboratory students to conduct a survey of the diversity and abundance of terrestrial arthropod species found within the caves. Over the two years they sampled in Timpanogos Caves, they identified 55 species of macroinvertebrates in an unpublished report. In the 20 years since the last sampling, many environmental factors could have changed in these caves, contributing to an overall decrease in both abundance and biodiversity of fauna. Therefore, we repeated the sampling done by the Nelson …

Distinguishing Leukemic Cells Using Fractal Chromatin Patterns And Machine Learning, Abigail Gordhamer, Ryan Cordner, Paul Young

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

One of the most important tests in the clinical laboratory is the Complete Blood Count, which involves identifying the white blood cells in a patient’s blood. The respective counts of the different white blood cell types correlate with various states of health and disease and are critical to diagnosing diseases such as leukemia. Leukemic cells (blasts) are considered especially difficult to distinguish, and it is of the upmost importance that these cells are identified correctly. To aid in the process of leukemic cell identification, we quantified fractal patterns in the chromatin of white blood cells and used the data to …

Achievement Goals And Burnout In Pre-Health Profession Undergraduate Students, Hunter Nelson, Jamie Jensen

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Oral Presentation Honorable

Relevant Background

• STEM majors are saturated with Pre-health students

• There is high demand for academic excellence and high competition

• Medical school programs (Dyrbye, 2016) and health careers (Shanafelt et al., 2022) show a high rate of burnout

• Symptoms of burnout are mental fatigue, less selfsatisfaction, and depression (Koutsimani, 2021).

• Achievement Goal Theory (AGT) may predict burnout (Nadon et al., 2020).

A Survey Of Molecular Diagnostics Education, Kristina Berman, Ryan Cordner, Mary Davis

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) is vital for healthcare, involving the analysis of clinical samples to diagnose and monitor diseases. However, there's a scarcity of courses focused on molecular diagnostics, which could greatly benefit medical laboratory scientists.

Lake Bonneville's Legacy: Genetic Drift And Diversity Loss In Snake Range Bonneville Cutthroat Trout, Tanner Van Orden, Dennis Shiozawa, Peter Searle, Ana Kokkonen, Jonathan Reynolds, R. Paul Evans

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

• Many Bonneville Basin streams have been isolated for 18,000-plus years (Behnke 1976).
• Bonneville cutthroat trout in small streams may have been experiencing genetic drift since the desiccation of Lake Bonneville.
• Small streams in the west desert of Utah and Nevada are at a high risk of genetic drift and diversity loss due to their small size

Online Vs. In-Person Delivery Of Social Skills Group Intervention For Autistic Adolescents: Comparison Of Social Behavior Outcomes, Miiko Lyne Masse

Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic quarantine guidelines made finding quality telehealth services for autistic individuals a vital pursuit. Before the worldwide shift to widespread adoption of telehealth services, however, rural and underserved areas were already using telehealth options to access services, but not yet in the realm of social skills interventions because of the preference for in-person groups and lack of data regarding effectiveness of social skills in a telehealth environment. This study compared effectiveness of an adaptation of Laugeson and Frankel's Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS) social skills curriculum for adolescents in a live synchronous online …

Effects Of Predation On Cognition In Brachyrhaphis Rhabdophora, Elizabeth F. Jenkins, Jerry B. Johnson

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

RESEARCH QUESTION

Does “predation environment” affect the cognitive abilities of the tropical fish Brachyrhaphis rhabdophora?

Increasing Student Capability To Confront Difficult Topics Through Structured Conversations, Parker R. Carlquist, Lexi Brady, Seth Dotson, Jeff Glenn Dr.

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

• Health is shaped by numerous determinants including race, socioeconomic status, education, and personal behaviors
• Addressing determinants often requires the formation and implementation of comprehensive policy
• Public health issues and efforts are intrinsically controversial and can be polarizing
• If individuals are unable to discuss public health issues, long-term viable solutions will not be found
• A dramatic increase in political polarization has occurred since the 1980s leading to less common ground and agreement between political parties on contentious issues4-6
• Research shows reflective structured dialogue improves:
• Polarization attitudes towards openness, tribal identity, and moral disdain
• Knowledge, trust in others, and tolerance of differences …

Nkx6.1 And Stx1a As Binding Partners In Pancreatic Beta Cells, Jakob T. Lenker, Jeff S. Tessem, Connor C. Littlefield

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Diabetes is characterized by a loss in beta cell function within the pancreas and the subsequent inability to produce sufficient insulin to regulate blood glucose. While current diabetes treatments focus on delivering pharmaceutical insulin to diabetic individuals, such treatments are temporary solutions and do not address the root of the issue. Instead, our research focuses on potential mechanisms for inducing greater insulin secretion within the pancreas of the individual. NK6 Homeobox 1 (Nkx6.1) is a major transcription factor in beta cells and its overexpression in beta cells is associated with higher insulin secretion. Previous research indicates that Syntaxin 1A (Stx1A) …

Using Chimeric Autoantigen Receptor (Caar) T Cells To Eliminate Autoreactive B Cells In Autoimmune Diseases, Abigail Cheever, Chloe Kang, Hunter Lindsey, Mackenzie Hansen, Kim O'Neill, Scott Weber

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

• Graves’ disease (GD) is an antibody-mediated autoimmune disease affecting the thyroid and causes hyperthyroidism
• 4th most common autoimmune disease in the US
• Autoreactive B cells produce anti-TSHR antibodies (TRAbs) which mimic thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and chronically stimulate thyroid cells causing hyperthyroidism
• There currently is no treatment which addresses the root cause of the disease

The Role Of Sirt7 In Beta Cell Function And Insulin Secretion, Trevor C. Kendrick, Jeffrey S. Tessem, Connor Littlefield

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by an inability of beta cells to produce or secrete insulin due to decreasing beta cell mass, a condition induced by beta cell death or overuse. Current treatment consists of daily administration of insulin to diabetic individuals. We have shown that Sirtuin 7 (Sirt7), a deacetylase located in the nucleus, directly interacts with Nkx6.1, a transcription factor essential for beta cell function and proliferation. We have shown that one of the post translational modifications that impinges on Nkx6.1 activity is acetylation. Given Sirt7’s role as a deacetylase, and published reports demonstrating its impact …

Microbial Thiamine And Riboflavin Influence Drosophila Melanogaster Dietary Preference For Yeast, Dean B. Peterson, John M. Chaston

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Naturally prefer a yeast restricted diet over a full yeast diet

• Restricted – 50g yeast and 100g glucose (50g Y:100g G)
• Full – 100g yeast and 100g glucose per (100g Y:100g G)
• Microbes affect this dietary preference for yeast (DPY) through an unknown mechanism
• Common microbes studied with flies are acetic acid bacteria (AAB) and lactic acid bacteria (LAB)

Tardigrade Niche Partitioning, Samantha Hougaard, Byron Adams

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

The two types of Tardigrade (also known as Tardigrade), Ramazzottius and Echiniscus, coexist in the same environment. It could be assumed that they partition their resources by food type to avoid competition. To test this theory, I limited the two tardigrade groups to one food source.

Ultrasound Imaging Of Abductor Hallucis Volume Demonstrated By Strong Agreement With Mri, Jacob Willes, Aaron W. Johnson

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Due to the complexity of assessing the individual strength and function of certain deep small muscles within the body such intrinsic foot muscles, ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may provide a means to appropriately evaluate these muscles. Assessing foot muscles using US and MRI provides a unique and important model to compare muscle volume. Since intrinsic foot muscles are crucial for function and mobility while influencing quality of life, being able to accurately measure foot muscle volume is important. For example, the tracking of atrophy or hypertrophy due to disease or therapeutic intervention. While MRI is often considered …

The Genome Of Huauzontle (Chenopodium Berlandieri), A North American Relative Of Quinoa, Ashley K. Marcheschi, Jeff Maughan, Peter J. Maughan, David E. Jarvis, Kate E. Jaggi, Eric N. Jellen

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is a popular Andean seed crop that has a reduced ability to thrive outside of its native range. A related member of the Allotetraploid Goosefoot Complex (ATGC), pitseed goosefoot (Chenopodium berlandieri), is a minimally invasive North American weed that is able to survive in climates and environments that are restrictive to quinoa growth. C. berlandieri has been independently domesticated at least three times, including in Mesoamerica as the immature panicle vegetable ‘huauzontle.’ To assess the capacity of C. berlandieri as a genetic resource for improvement of C. quinoa, we sequenced the whole genome of a huauzontle accession …

Effects Of Post-Translational Histone Modifications On Transcription Rate, Jacob Hunter, Steven Johnson, Aaron Bohn, Sarah Ricks, Sarah Hodson, David Bates, Steven M. Johnson

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

DNA structure and organization in eukaryotic cells significantly impacts the regulation of geneexpression, cellular properties and overall behavior. At the most fundamental unit of this organization,~147 bp of DNA wraps 1.7 times around a histone octamer core, forming a collective unit called thenucleosome. Positioning and occupancy of nucleosomes around promoter elements of genes is knownto be a strong regulator of transcription in eukaryotic nuclei. Post-translational modifications (PTM’s) tothe protruding N-terminal tails of histone proteins are known to influence chromatin structure and thusgene expression; however, relatively little is known about the residual effect of histone PTM’s ontranscription rate.

Investigating The Correlations Between Medicaid And Snap Benefit Levels And Health Outcomes, Will Evans, Michael Barnes, Richard Evans

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

• Socioeconomic factors, such as poverty, have statistically significant impacts on health.
• SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) and Medicaid are major government programs that exist to reduce these health-detrimental effects for impoverished households.
• Problem: Determining optimal welfare benefit levels is difficult. Despite vastly different costs-of-living between counties, states offer a standard welfare amount to all counties in the state. Simulating benefits based on geographic living expenses can address the political debate about one-size-fits-all benefits found in most states. Simulating optimal benefits based on achieving optimal health effects is needed to improve SNAP and Medicaid.

Variation In Vital Rates Among Least Chub (Iotichthy Phlegethontis), Lauren Applebee, Mark C. Belk, Nathan St. Andre

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Conservation plans for a species often requires knowledge of population trends. These trends can be difficult to acquire, but one piece of information that can be attained from populations is the catch per unit effort (CPUE). We are trying to use CPUE in a new way to determine population demography for populations of Iotichthys phlegethontis, Least Chub.

Targeting Hsp90: A Novel Approach To Combat Synovial Sarcomas, Peyton Worley, Jared Barrott, Matt Kirkham, Drake Heithoff

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Synovial sarcomas are rare muscle cancers that have very few targeted therapies. HSP90 is a protein upregulated in this form of cancer and many others. A screening of this cancer was done in vitro, using FDA-approved drugs, showing that HSP90 could be a promising treatment option. A novel HSP90 inhibitor was applied to human and mouse synovial sarcoma cell lines and was analyzed after receiving a drug treatment for HSP90.

Determining If Optic Tecti Of Larval Zebrafish Receive Input From Deep Brain Photoreceptors, Emalie A. Christensen, Allison G. Pickens, Colby Odom, Griffin Sauer, Sarah Y. Jarrett, Maurice Hunt, Annalie Martin, Arminda Suli

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Deep brain photoreceptors (DBPs) are light-responsive sensory cells present in mammals and non-mammalian vertebrates. In non-mammalian vertebrates, studies have shown DBP involvement in various time and light dependent behaviors including circadian rhythm, phototaxis, and seasonal reproduction. In adult telosts, DBPs are present throughout the brain, including the optic tectum (OT), a midbrain structure that receives and integrates input from multiple sensory modalities. In this study, we aimed to determine if DBPs are part of or send input to the OT of larval zebrafish. Single-cell RNA sequencing of the larval zebrafish OT showed the presence of several opsins. We focused on …

Making Sense Of Messy Data: Classifying Metadata Variables In Public Transcriptomic (Rna) Data, Grace S. Brown, Tolulope Akinbo, Stephen Piccolo

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

US researchers are required to deposit data in public repositories so other researchers can validate their findings and reuse their data for new studies. There are > 100,000 transcriptomic (RNA) datasets in the public domain. However, it is of little use without metadata (details about individual samples e.g. sex, race). Having quality metadata provides many benefits including

• controlling for confounding factors.
• improving precision medicine.

Research has suggested

• males are studied more than females.
• people of European descent are studied most.

We need to make representation more equitable so genetic research will be relevant to all people. The first step is characterizing …

Adhd Medication Is More Potent And Effective During Ovulation, [email protected] Ford

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

• Women escalate psychostimulant abuse more quickly than men. Women who are prescribed psychostimulants for ADHD report fluctuations in drug efficacy that correspond to their menstrual cycle.

• In rodents, females acquire psychostimulant addiction more readily and release more dopamine (DA) in the dorsal striatum, an effect mediated by estrogen.

• However, the impact of the estrous cycle in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a core region for learning and addiction in the ventral striatum, is underexplored.

• Here, we examine cocaine, methylphenidate (Ritalin), and methamphetamine (Desoxyn) effects on DA transmission in male and naturally-cycling female mice.